Transcendental Students (TS) was a

student activist Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. In addition to education, student groups often play central roles in democratization and winning civil rights. Modern stu ...

and anarchist group created in 1969 at

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Its motto and philosophy was "

insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

through happiness". Transcendental Students differed from the more nationally well-known student group,

Students for a Democratic Society Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships a ...

also based in New York City, both in philosophy and tactics. While SDS believed that government and society would need to be restructured, TS believed that social life could be humanized immediately through actions. As SDS pushed for reform of government or

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, TS called for

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

. SDS was influenced by

state socialist State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition ...

thinking, while TS drew from

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and

Situationist The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

philosophy.'' Anarchism in America'' (1982), Pacific Street Film However, TS and SDS did collaborate on some actions.

Overview

TS began in the spring semester of the 1968–1969 school year after a series of

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s protesting overcrowding in the classroom. TS became known for holding events that they referred to as "Freak Ins" (or alternatively, "Freak Outs"). These convergences would occupy and 'free' an area, transforming study halls into radical spaces. At NYU, TS became a large group. TS would criticize SDS, dismissing its leaders as self-serving and its politics as incomplete or petty. Soon TS eclipsed SDS on that campus. As historian William O'Neill writes in ''Coming Apart'', "In the fall of 1969 the most important radical student group at New York University was called Transcendental Students. At a time when SDS could barely muster twenty-five members, five hundred or more belonged to TS." The group was seen as a threat by some authorities and some members found themselves spied on by the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

political intelligence unit or "Red Squad". In 1970, TS organized the takeover and occupation of NYU's

Courant Institute The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (commonly known as Courant or CIMS) is the mathematics research school of New York University (NYU). Founded in 1935, it is named after Richard Courant, one of the founders of the Courant Institute ...

where they held a $3.5 million

CDC 6600 The CDC 6600 was the flagship of the 6000 series of mainframe computer systems manufactured by Control Data Corporation. Generally considered to be the first successful supercomputer, it outperformed the industry's prior recordholder, the I ...

computer hostage (equivalent to $31.2 million in 2025 dollars), demanding $100,000 ransom to be used for bail for the "

Panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

21". The occupation, involving 200 students and at least 2 professors, was also in opposition to NYU's connection to the

Atomic Energy Commission Many countries have or have had an Atomic Energy Commission. These include: * National Atomic Energy Commission, Argentina (1950–present) * Australian Atomic Energy Commission (1952–1987) * Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (1973–present) * ...

and

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's invasion of Cambodia. When their demands were not met, members of TS suggested the computer's memory be erased with magnets while other students (perhaps Weathermen) decided to destroy the multimillion-dollar machine outright with

incendiary device Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel ...

s. The devices were disabled and the CDC 6600 computer saved by

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

Peter Lax Peter David Lax (1 May 1926 – 16 May 2025) was a Hungarian-born American mathematician and Abel Prize laureate working in the areas of pure and applied mathematics. Lax made important contributions to integrable systems, fluid dynamics an ...

, then director of NYU's computing center.

References

External links

Inciting to Riot
- clip from the TS film ''Inciting to Riot'' {{anarchism Defunct anarchist organizations in North America New York University Student political organizations in the United States Anarchism in New York (state)

Overview

See also

References

External links